BLOG

International Institute for Creative Development Artists residency is created to investigate, amongst other important things, the thought process of creating. It is an open minded-thematic programme that focuses on the artist’s insights, narratives, and trajectory in the creation of art.

Designed to facilitate a hybrid co-creating environment for local and international artists coming together to share experiences and creativity. Curated by multiple curators unlike other residencies, participants get to explore personal ideas and techniques in a shared space, exposing and connecting their creative energies in a collective frequency that leads to discovering new ideas, and establishing new frontiers of knowledge and creativity.

This year’s residency will challenge your creative ideologies in an intense learning environment, as artists would be exposed to works of other artists, creative journals, and studios, aimed at building your creative vocabulary, narratives and presentation skills. Included in the programme are open studios, artists’ talks, travels, studio visits and final exhibition.

At the end of one month, we believe that participating artists would have realized deeper and new understanding of their creative thought process, its challenges and dynamics, it’s role in our contemporary society, how socio-political global issues relates and influences our thoughts, how best to interpret them in form of social inventions, in realizing our ability to juxtapose metaphors that align with their true creative proclivities.

About the Residency

In 2015 the International Institute for Creative Development, Abuja began the first and only innovative artists residency in Abuja which explored the process of creating and the idea of juxtaposing opposite metaphors, like South and North, displacement, and proximity, location and movement, object and the subject; all coming together to bring about a fusion of ideas by the three artists in residence.

Considering the creative landscape of Abuja, the aspect of context in-depth and art education, research and critical thinking process and methodologies are not popular dialogue or artistic practice. The residency bridges the gaps and guaranteed continued cultural and civil interaction between the artist and his audience, who are constantly seeking and demanding for something new. The programme was also designed to bring together the artists, the creative audience and the public with its open studio events. The residency as a platform for creative investigations and interrogations of the wider society was able to create new spaces outside the white wall, attracting local, regional and international attention in line with the Institute’s objectives. The residency is designed to inspire critical thinking, development of contextual works, adopting learning experiences , that examines individual narratives with flexible structures that encourage research and creative production of individual ideas in a conducive working environment.

Who Can Apply?

We welcome Applications from local and International Artists (Female and Male).

■ Visual Artists can be working in any media - painting, sculpture, textile, ceramics, photography, video, film and performance art,

■ Applications are open to all artists (including self-taught artists) who have been professionally active for at least 5 years.

Conditions of acceptance:

All Participants MUST be available for the full 30 days. Please do not apply if you cannot attend the entire programme.

■Residency will be conducted principally in English. All Participants should be able to interact in English language.

IICD

International Institute for Creative Development (often referred to as IICD) is a capacity building centre that provides a sustainable creative database, advocacy, providing technical assistance for creating and managing cultural exchange programmes that seek to advance cultural diplomacy and social development.